The group formerly known as Mayors Against Illegal Guns, which rebranded itself Wednesday under the name Everytown for Gun Safety, said it was blindsided last week when Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton, a Republican candidate for governor, dropped out of its coalition.

Not once in the 14 months since Boughton joined the group in February 2013 did the mayor voice his objections to its agenda, Erika Soto Lamb, a spokeswoman for the gun-control advocacy coalition, told Hearst Connecticut Media.

"It feels like sort of politics to us," Lamb said. "We've never heard from him to say, `I don't agree with that.' "

Boughton denied that he is trying to boost his stock with gun owners -- perceived by some as a key to the GOP nomination -- by renouncing his ties to the 1,000-mayor coalition.

"I didn't leave (them). They left me," Boughton said.

Since signing a statement of principles, which support universal background checks and efforts to combat the trafficking of illegal guns, Boughton said the coalition's agenda has moved away from enforcement in favor of increased restrictions on guns.

"For me, I'm not comfortable about signing my name to a blank check," Boughton said.

The strongest reaction to Boughton severing his ties with the group came last week from Erica Lafferty, an outreach coordinator for the coalition and the daughter of slain Sandy Hook Elementary School principal Dawn Hochsprung.

"My mom and my family have strong ties to Danbury -- it was where my mother held her first school administration job and I know it is a place that was dear to her heart," Lafferty told Hearst at the time. "That's why I feel betrayed to learn that Mayor Boughton is putting his personal political ambitions ahead of the safety of Connecticut families. In fact, the tag line for his campaign is `People over Politics' -- but the only people that this decision serves are gun lobbyists."

The controversy over Boughton's association with the group, founded by Bloomberg in 2006, comes amid a rebranding initiative and a pledge by the former New York City mayor to invest $50 million in the coalition.

CCDL is appealing a federal judge's decision to uphold Connecticut's toughest-in-the-nation gun law, which was precipitated by the Dec. 14, 2012, slaying of 20 children and six educators in Newtown.

The law cracks down on assault weapons and high-capacity gun magazines. The gun owners group has frequently picketed at campaign events of Republicans who backed the legislation.

At the same time, the knock from Democrats on the main contenders for the GOP nomination for governor is that the Republicans are shifty and ambiguous on which gun-control measures they support and which ones they don't.

"I've been very clear to say that if the bill showed up on my desk, I would have sent it back to the Legislature for more work, specifically in the areas of mental health and school security," Boughton told Hearst this week. "I think the sportsmen out there have raised issues about the magazines. I think it's going to have to be looked at. It's unenforceable."

Boughton declined to elaborate on the specific provisions of the gun control legislation, however.

"I haven't changed my position in 14 years," said Boughton, who is Danbury's longest-serving mayor.

Of the seven most populous cities in Connecticut, Danbury is the only one whose mayor isn't on the membership list of Everytown for Gun Safety, which recently brought the group Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America under its umbrella. The other top-seven cities are all represented by Democrats.

Boughton's withdrawal from the coalition leaves it with 13 members overall in Connecticut, two of whom are Republicans -- East Haven Mayor Joseph Maturo Jr. and North Haven First Selectman Michael Freda.

"He signed a statement of principles, which haven't changed since he joined," Lamb said of Boughton.

Boughton said it was disheartening that the coalition made no effort to retain him and chose to "broadside" him in the media.

"OK, how about picking up the phone?" Boughton said. "I've never ever, ever heard anything from them. They don't ask your opinion. They just tell you. It's very clear that they're not interested in feedback."